Portable electric light.



1. T. DR'UFVA.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGH,

APPucATmN m50 JULY 31,1911.

Patented Deo. 17, 1918.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE'.

JOHN T. DEUFvA, OFLONGMEADOW.'MAssAoHusET'rs, Assx'GNOE. rettilinei? 'tiratura oO. uw., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION or` NEW YORK;

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT.y

Application filed July 31, 1917. Serial No. 183,653.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN T. DRUFVA, a citizen of the United States. and a resident of Longmeadow in the county of'Hampden and State of assacluzsetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Electric Lights, of which the following is a specification.

The invention pertains more particularly to the character of electric flash lights to be held in the hand and lighted, es occasion may require, by the manual movement of a slide applied upon the exterior casing of the device.

My invention resides more particularly in novel means lor completing the circuit between the lamp and battery and in a construction which prevents the accidental cir cuiting of the lamp by contact with metal articles, such. as might arise when a flash light, otherwise constructed, is placed in a box of tools.

The flash light of my invention comprises an exterior casing, a plural cell battery therein, an esrutcheon on the side of said casln containing a sp1ingslide,a conductor o? usual type leading to said escutcheon from the negative pole of 'the battery, a couductor leading franrfthe neighborhood of said escutclieon to thelreflector of the lamp and in electrical connection therewith but insulatedlfrom said escutchepnbylthe material of the casing, a metal cap aplplied uponthe upper end of the casing and olding the reflector and lens, a lamp bulb of customary type held by said reflector and engaging the positive pole of the battery, and means on the actuation of said slide in one direction for completing the circuit, said reflector being insulated from the metal arts of said cap and seated upon a ring o insulatin material fitting within the same. .The re ector at its outer edge engages the lens on a line inwardly fromthe metal parts holding the lens, and hence the reflector is always out of circuit with said metal parts. The insulating ring seating the reflector insulates the lower portion of the same from the metal parts about the outer end of the lamp, leaving said reflector only in electrical connection with one of the side conductors and with one terminal of the lamp bulb.

lThe invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter Specicatlon of Letters Patent.

`said reflector bein Ithrough 'and securing' i'poslitio,n tlle'vpper Patentedjpec. 1v, 191s.

presented, reference being-.had tothe accompanying drawingsgfiirwhich: K i,

Figure 1 is a central.longitudinalsection, with the wrapping on fthe' `battery partly broken away, of a portable; flesh-light em bodFying my invention; Y

ig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the casing of the lamp and is presented to illustrate more particularl the longitudinal conductors in their relation to the escutcheon and manually operative slide or switch, and i Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the insulat ing ring upon which the reflector is seated.

In the drawings, 10 designates a fiber casing having a closing cap 11 at its lower end and at'its'other end a lens 12, reflector 13, electric lamp 14, metal ,globular cap`15,a metalringj 16V screwed upon said cap and binding the lens 12l against the outer edge ofthe reflector, and an insulating ring, 17 set within thebase portion of thecap 15 and receiving, as a seat, the, inner side portions of said reflector, -`the up er 4eliges of h set inwardlyv` from.l the ring 16 and engaging the ,lens 12 along an `annular shoulder 18 formed on the, inner facetherepf, The reflector 13 has a threaded sleeve portion'lg at its inner end,`as usual, to receive the threaded body of the llamp 14. Oneterminal of the lamp is in electrical Lconnectionwith the reflector-13.

Within the ceilingy 101fisfplaeeh a.y plural cell battery `20ct known type', and within the lower end ofthe casngand below.V said battery is .corfned a coiled conducting spring 21 which is` lnelectrical connection with the negative pole'of the battery 2O and also with the lower endA of the longitudinal4 conductor 22 which extends downwardly from the esloutch'eon 23 to the lowerend of the casing 10,.V The spring 21 performs fits usual duty of serving as n conductorand also of pressing the batteryin adirectio'n toward the lamp 14,.` The escutcheon 23 may` be :of'an f suitable type, land it is rivete'diju'pii `the sldeofA the"V casing 10," one off thevfjrivets extending end of the conductor 2Q, which" is' iife 'ctrical connection with said escutcheon. Within the escutcheon 23 is located a switch 24 having an exposed finger-piece and being of any suitable character. The switch 24.

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may be slid lengthwise of a chamber within the escutchcon 23, and said switch has two s ring ends 25,` 26, replectively adapted to s ide on the casing 10. e switch 25 1s made use of to place in circuit with the conductor 22, the upper conductor27 which is secured at its lower end by an eyelet -28 inclosed within the escutcheon 23 and' normally out of electrical." connection therewith. The upper end of the conductor 27 is secured in position by a rivet 29 and is in permanent engagement with the reflector 13 at the inner side of the rin of insulating material 17. When the sli e 24 is in the position in -which it is shown in Fig. 1, its end 25 engages the rivet 28 and thus places the conductors 22, 27 and reflector in electrical I connection with one another, but when `the slide 24 is moved downwardly in the escutcheon so as to carry its end away from the rivet 28, the circuit between the conciliev tors 22, 27 becomes broken and the light extin uished.

he lower po tion of the ca 15 is bent inwardly, as at 0, to forni an inwardly extending annular shoulder affording a seat for an annular shoulder 31 formed on the ring 17. Th ring 17 at its lowerv portion is o less ext rior diameter than at its upper portion, and this difference in the thickness of the ring creates the shoulder 31,t and the lower portion of said ring by reason of its `being o less diameter than the upper portion othe ring, may within the outline define by the shoulder 30 as shown in Fig. 1. nThe ring 17 by neil/son of its construction and en dagement with the cap 15`may become firm y associ ated with said cap and lnaintain the refleccpass downwardly tor 13 in firm position. The ring 17 insulates the reflector 13 from the cap 15 and also insulates the up )er end of the conductor 27 frotn said cap. he rivet 29 does'hot extend outwardly throu h 1the shell ofthe tubillar-basing. 10, and` ience it is not in electrical connection with the 'usual sleeve 32 applied upon said casing to receive the threaded lower portion or band of the cap 15. As hereinbeforev described the up )er edges of the reflector 13 are set inwardly from the metal ring 16 which holds the lens 12'upon the cap 15 and hence said reflector 13 is out of electrical connection with said ring and position shown in Fig. 1 the circuit is through thel rivet 28, conductor 27, reflector 13, and one terminal of the lamp tqltbl ositive pole of the battery, and tliii'ce rom the negative pole of the battery througlh the spring 21, conductor 22, and esutc eon 23 to the slide 2l, then elcctr cally connected with the rivet 28. When the circult is completed the lamp will be lighted and remain 1i 'hted so long as the circuit is maintained. hen the slide 24 is moved downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 1, the circuit will be broken at the escutcheon and the light extinguished. \Vhen the slide 24 is in its inoperative.position, there will be no accidental establishing of the circuit, if the lanip should be placed in a box of tools, by any metal part, such as a file, connecting the escutcheon or slide with the metal parts at either or both ends of the flash light, and this is one of the important results attained bv my invention and whereby I produce a flash light in whiclrthe circuit is not likely to be made by accidental-means, as by placing the samt on a metal surface.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

In a flash light having a casing, rear and forward longitudinal conductors normally separated at their adjoinin ends and adapted to be placed in electric connection b v a manually operative switch, and a battery within said casing in electrical connection Y- t with the'rear conductor, a metal cap applied upon the outer end of said casing and affording at its inner portion an annular shoulder, a reflector within said cap in cuagexnent with the forward conductor und having an electric lamp at its inner end in engagement with the positive pole of the battery, a lens over 'said reflector, means binding said lens upon said reflector and an insulating ring servin as a seat for said reflector and having a ove its lower ond a shoulder seated upon the aforesaid annular shoulder', the uiper edges of the reflector being set inwardly from the metal parts at the outer end of the lamp and said insulat ing ring also serving to insulate the reflector from said cap.

Signed at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of` Massachusetts this 27th day of July, A. D. 1917.

JOHN T. nRUiVA.

'Witnesses i W. H. BLAKE, HENRY HYMAN.

l'lO 

